


Books

by LuckyREBD



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-17
Updated: 2011-11-17
Packaged: 2017-10-26 04:29:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/278703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyREBD/pseuds/LuckyREBD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one pegged Jounouchi as a reader, not even himself. When books become an inescapable passion, could his mysterious literary benefactor become more than just wisps of secondhand interaction?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jounouchi isn’t quite sure when it happened. He hadn’t been a big reader prior, and it didn’t make any sense to have started now, but yet for the second month in a row he found himself in the Domino library. It had become a dirty little secret, sneaking away from his friends long enough to pick up something new to read. His English had been improving rapidly as he drank in the expansive vocabulary offered by the old science fiction novels, enjoying stories of aliens and androids, robots and spaceships. Utopias and grand adventures through time and space alike, even a few fantasy novels.

But to say he was completely unaware of how it happened was another matter entirely.

Nestled in the bottom of his bag is a single, stolen book. The cover had enthralled him, a man covered in lovely expressive tattoos, and the title, though confusing, had intrigued him. Illustrated had been the word most difficult to figure out, realizing the artful tattoos were intended as just that: Illustrations of events, of stories.

Unfortunately, he had picked up the book off another student’s desk. Off Kaiba’s desk. When Kaiba had returned, Jou panicked and hid the book in his own desk until Kaiba left, and then slipped it into his backpack. Intending to arrive early the next day and hide it in the jerk’s desk, no harm, no foul. Except it never happened. Jounouchi read the book that evening, sitting on the fire escape outside his window and using the streetlamp for light, and finished it in one sitting, making a list of words to look up in the morning.

Two months later, and he still could not convince himself to give up Kaiba’s book.


	2. Chapter 2

Making a hasty exit out of school to visit the library, hoping to have some time to himself before meeting Yugi, Honda and Anzu at the arcade, Jounouchi doesn’t even bother to take off his uniform. Slipping into the lobby of the library, he throws a big cheesy grin at the assistant librarian, a young thing who muffles a giggle and smile at him every time he comes in. Sometimes she even orders in books from other libraries for him, but today she only gives him a jaunty wave in return and gestures at the phone by her ear.

Sitting at one of the far tables on the second floor, he grins to himself and rifles through his backpack, feeling for the familiar binding of his now-treasured paperback. Instead, though his fingers hit paper, the spine feels odd. Frowning slightly in confusion, Jou pulls it out and his eyes widen.

Instead of the book he had stolen from Kaiba, there is a copy of I, Robot, the collection of short stories by Issac Asimov. Staring at the old paperback in bewilderment, Jounouchi tries to figure out how the book could possibly have gotten into his bag, and where the blazes the other book went!

Unable to restrain his curiosity, he opens the novel anyways, eager to see the new adventures. A tiny bookmark tumbles out, plain, white and entirely unmarked, but the steady cardstock is in the unmistakable form of a common bookmark. Prodding it with one finger idly, he thinks back to the amount of dog-eared and bent pages he had caused to keep his place, and smiles sheepishly.

Maybe a bookmark isn’t such a bad idea.


	3. Chapter 3

During the course of his classes, Jounouchi’s little bookmark had gone from stark white to delicate designs curving effortlessly around it in heavy black pen. His favourite, the blonde decides, is the Red Eyes curled up in the bottom corner, surveying the expansive continent laid out before him confidently. On the reverse, he has hesitated, unsure what would match best with the front, and after some musing (and several balled up notes to the head from Honda), he started to scribble again. The same scenery, beginning at the opposite side, with a Blue Eyes ferociously perched atop a castle tower, sending sparks into the air. Satisfied, he doesn’t even notice the bell had rung until Anzu’s voice comes from behind him,

“Oh! Jounouchi, that’s actually very good!” A quiet exclamation, her voice hushed gently to not bring outside attention to the boy’s artwork, lest a teacher or petty student take notice. Tilting his head, he offers her a sheepish smile,

“It’s not my best, but it’ll do. I just can’t stand to leave something blank like that.” He likes the way her eyes sparkle when she’s amused, it reminds him of someone else.

In his rush to follow them out, he doesn’t notice that the finished book, and equally finished bookmark are no longer in his bag. It isn’t until he arrives home that he realizes a completely different, and larger book has replaced it, and another pristine white bookmark.

Dammit, now he’d have to come up with something else to draw on it!


	4. Chapter 4

The pages feel smooth under his fingertips, and have none of the yellowing that the other books had. It feels a bit disconcerting to have a new book in his hands, but Jounouchi is fairly certain it must be recently purchased. The spine doesn’t even have a crease in it. The size itself is fairly daunting, and nestled in an old winter jacket on the fire escape, he debates if it is worth starting the book tonight. It’s definitely a three night read, at least, and from the diction level possibly more.

And it’s weird.

He reluctantly opens it to the first page regardless, after all, he trusted mysterious-book-man so far for good reading choices. Snuggling deeper into the fabric, he smiles and starts to read, dictionary by his side just in case.

He almost doesn’t hear his alarm go off through the window. Wincing at his sore bottom, the tight knot in his back and the stiffness in his arms, Jounouchi immediately regrets falling asleep outside instead of on his futon. Clambering back in, he scrambles to shut off the alarm before it bothers his father, and tries to straighten out his uniform jacket, frowning at the prominent wrinkles. Great.

Sliding his new book carefully into his bag, Jounouchi slips it on and shuffles down the fire escape, dropping the last six feet to the ground with a groan as despite landing on his feet his joints do not approve. Maybe today he would draw trains on his bookmark.

After all, Dagny Taggart was kind of growing on him.


	5. Chapter 5

Jounouchi wants to scowl. He gives a vague effort even, but still it fades into a warm smile as he looks down at his seventh blank bookmark. Six illustrated pieces of card-stock stolen out of his bag, but still he cannot bring himself to give an honest scowl. After all, the trade off seems to be more than worth it, he muses as the new novels weigh heavily in his hands.

So far, Anzu is the only one he told about the strange trades, the odd appearance of the items in his bag, and his growing obsession with books. When he had suggested staking out his bag to catch the book-dropper, his friend had vehemetly refused. Stating that the whole notion was wonderfully romantic, and that if Jounouchi caught the culprit, they might stop leaving the books.

The latter thought was enough to shut out any ideas of spying for the sneak.

The three paperbacks are light, tiny, and for once in Japanese. The original Gundam trilogy, which despite the appeal of massive robots, he had not had an interest in reading.

And yet, halfway through the first novel he was already addicted to the strange ideas and intrigue flooding it’s pages. So much so, in fact, that he missed the teacher approaching, and even the quiet hiss from Honda to put it away.

Giving a soft, “Huh?” Of surprise, the blonde tries to follow the book with his hands as it gets pulled away, their teacher tut-tutting to the side of his desk.

“While I do appreciate that you are doing something productive for once, perhaps you should be listening to the lesson instead?” She scolds, eyes narrowed as the book dangles just out of reach.

“But I already know this stuff, just give it back!” Jounouchi bristles a little. His English was probably better than hers by now, with the amount of novels he had read. Despite him knowing it to be true, the class titters with laughter, and he ducks his head in frustrated shame, face red.

“Excuse me,” Kaiba’s voice cuts through the encounter like a knife, his eyes narrowed in annoyance at the interruption, “But if I recall, you gave us free time to revise our work and speak quietly among ourselves. Reading is far less disruptive than talking.”

As she opens her mouth to object, blue eyes narrow menacingly, “So as long as his worksheet is completed, there should be no issue with him reading, correct?”

Jounouchi stares, confused that of all people Kaiba is coming to his defense!

With the issue settled, and his worksheet ‘remarkably’ complete, Jounouchi is left to read once more, but while he should be scanning sentences, instead he finds himself sneaking glances to scan the stoic features of one Kaiba Seto.


	6. Chapter 6

Still reeling from the events of the afternoon, Jounouchi stands on the fenced in roof of the school, too distracted to even read. The light breeze kicks up, ruffling his hair and pulling lazily at his uniform jacket, a few late fall leaves twisting and dancing in the courtyard below. Flopping down unceremoniously onto the stone tiles, Jou kicks off his shoes and tries to relax.

Kaiba. Of all people who could have come to his defense, it was Kaiba? Biting his lower lip, Jounouchi tries to figure out if it could be some sort of trick, but the other teen had seemed so genuinely forceful about the matter. Maybe he had a thing for bookworms, Jou jokes half-heartedly to himself. Reaching into his rucksack, he tugs out the book from the afternoon, the one the teacher had snatched, only to blink softly as a piece of paper flutters out onto the ground.

Barely catching it before the autumn wind can steal it, amber eyes eagerly peer at the square note, written onto the same cardstock as the bookmarks had been.

For every line of text you covet,

I offer another.

For every tale you devour,

I offer a second.

For every page you turn,

I offer a glance.

For every step forward you take,

I offer to stop a step, and wait for you.

Don’t keep me waiting.

~ S.


	7. Chapter 7

The tiny square of paper has deep creases in it where it has been folded, and the edges have softened from days of careful handling. Jou rubs his thumb over the deep impressions in it that make up the message, smiling softly to himself before he folds it back up and slips it into his pocket again.

There had not been any more notes, but the books and blank bookmarks had continued to be replaced in his backpack with a comforting sense of routine. Some old and worn from being read so often and some with crisp new pages, but all so easy to delve into their pages and disappear for a little while. With the weather getting even colder as of late, and the steady snowfalls, Jounouchi has had little time to read.

Going out onto the fire escape is out of the question, and the library has such limited hours in the winter season, and with winter break fast approaching he knows there will not even be the respite of school days to oblige his literary appetite. Sighing heavily, he casts a lethargic glance out the window at the lightly falling snow, wishing it would melt soon. Slushing home through it in threadbare sneakers was losing its appeal rapidly.

The empty classroom is lowly lit, not wanting to catch the attention of anyone wandering by the door as he avoids going home for the day, knowing he shouldn’t visit his friends while they celebrate the season with their families. It’s a lonely season.

Reaching into his bag for his book, knowing it won’t be replaced since it was unfinished, he blinks in surprise as his fingers brush something else first. Pulling it out curiously, Jounouchi lets a tiny smile curve his lips as he sees the neatly gift-wrapped box. With no card on it to further identify ‘S’, he opens it with restraint, keeping the paper intact, before opening the box. Eyes widening with delight and confusion, he stares down at the book in his hands, cheeks tinging pink as it all falls into place.

The Illustrated Man.


	8. Chapter 8

Rushing back into the hallways, Jounouchi finds out shortly that he had just missed Kaiba leaving for the day. Grabbing his jacket from the locker, and tossing his bag on, Jou heads out into the snow towards KaibaCorp. After all, where else would Kaiba go after school?

“Is Kaiba— er, is Mister Kaiba in?” The receptionist looks him over critically, sneering a tiny bit as she notices the blonde’s ratty sneakers and faded blue school uniform, and Jou knows he didn’t help things by failing at business talk.

“Do you have an appointment?” She asks in an overly sweet voice, opening the scheduling program on her computer screen and waiting smugly.

“I—…no. Couldn’t you just, I don’t know, let him know I’m here? Please?” Gritting his teeth a little, Jounouchi notices the way she adopts a falsely apologetic expression. Great.

“I’m very sorry, but I can’t disturb Mister Kaiba unless you had an appointment.” She moves to turn back to her earlier work, only pausing as the young blonde cuts in again.

“Well can I make an appointment?” Jounouchi bristles, annoyed at being dismissed so easily.

“Are you a business associate?” She questions coolly, not amused after being interrupted a second time.

“No. I. I know him from school.” Jounouchi offers, but he knows his chances are sunk just from her unyielding patronizing expression.

“I’ll be sure to let Mister Kaiba know a schoolmate was here when he gets in.” She smirks, having no intention of doing any such thing, but falters when the blonde’s eyes light up triumphantly.

“So he isn’t here yet!” And Jounouchi leaves, heading to the only other place he can picture Kaiba going after school.

Home.


	9. Chapter 9

“I’m really sorry, Jou, but oniisama hasn’t come home yet.” Mokuba bites his lip, spotting the way Jounouchi droops at the answer. After all, the blonde had been waiting almost an hour in the cold trying to get someone to let Mokuba or his brother know he was there, “You could wait inside if you’d like. I think he would be upset if you got sick from being outside waiting for him.”

Jou shakes his head, offering a faint smile, “Nah, it’s okay kiddo. Will you let him know I stopped by? I think I’ll just head home and get some dry clothes for now.” Gesturing at his soaked school uniform pants, they both share a small laugh.

Giving a jaunty wave over his shoulder at Mokuba, Jou heads down the slushy streets towards home, expression heavy with disappointment.

Maybe he was wrong.

Shaking his head to clear the light snow that was settling in his hair, he looks up at the tiny crystals falling from the sky, and can’t hide the tiny smile that fights it’s way to his lips.

“You’re late, Jounouchi.”

The voice cuts through his reverie, and the blonde’s head snaps in the direction of the sound. Leaning against a very nice car in an expensive wool winter jacket and leather gloves is the object of his search, with an exasperated expression. It can’t have been comfortable being in that end of town so long with a pricey ride, and Jou wonders if the red in his own cheeks is from the cold, or embarrassment.

“K-Kaiba? What are you doing here? I was looking all over for you!” Jou sputters out, amber eyes wide.

“Waiting for you to get home.” Taking in the wet clothes and slight shivering, Kaiba frowns and shrugs out of his heavy overcoat, taking the few strides forward to drape it around Jou and tug it around the chilly boy, “Idiot. You’re going to get a cold.”

Marvelling at how nice the residual heat from Seto’s body feels inside the coat, Jou smiles, “You underestimate my immune system.” He quips lightly, feeling a bit giddy and lightheaded as Kaiba’s arm settles around his waist, steering him towards the car, Jou’s backpack in his free hand.

“Come on. Let’s get you warmed up, hm? You can peruse my library while we get you dry.”

And Jounouchi knows he was right.


	10. Chapter 10

Jou likes that Seto has a fireplace. Snug and nestled into a large comforter, he watches the flames dance and sips at his hot chocolate. Christmas music plays quietly, unobtrusively, and Mokuba is snoring softly on the couch behind him.

Peeking over his shoulder, Jou watches Seto gently lift the bundle of sleeping boy into his arms and smile down. Turning his gaze from the tender moment, he muses on his sister, and how nice it will be to see her again. The door of the study clicks shut quietly as Seto carries his brother to bed, and Jou is content to stay where he is, surrounded by warmth, safety and books.

It feels like he could stay here forever.

“Don’t fall asleep yet, Katsuya.” Seto’s voice jolts him awake from a light doze, blinking drowsily up at him as the taller boy tugs him closer, comforter and all.

“Nnn. No. Sleepy now.” Jou grouches playfully, tilting his head to rest it against Seto’s shoulder.

“Liar.” Seto chuckles, and adjusts the comforter so it envelops both of them, his arms curled lazily around the blonde, “Much better.”

Jou sighs contentedly, feeling the brush of lips against his forehead.

Yeah, he could definitely stay.


End file.
